Asher Morton Farmstead

Built in 1860 (Greek Revival architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

From the record

“The Asher Morton Farmstead is a farm located on Lower Terre Haute Road 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Paris, Illinois. The farmstead was constructed circa 1860 by Asher Morton, an Ohioan who moved to the area in 1850.”
Wikipedia article Asher Morton Farmstead, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 9 National Register listings published here for Edgar County · listed in 1996 · category: Building · built in 1860, Greek Revival architecture.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 3 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
Listed as. Morton, Asher, Farmstead - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
Address. Lower Terre Haute Rd., 4.5 mi. S of Paris, US 150, Paris, 61944
When was it listed? February 1996
Category. building
Township. Elbridge township
When was it built? 1860
Architectural style. Greek Revival architecture
National Register reference number. 96000096 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

17,476 words

The chapter on Elbridge Township in The History of Edgar County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County--its Cities, Towns, &c. : Directory of Its Tax-payers; War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c. Illustrated, published 1879 names Paris. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Through all the years of which we have been writing, settlers had steadily been coming to this locality. Numerous claims had been made, cabins built, fields cleared and, in some instances, better houses and buildings were seen. Paris had been laid out, and contained quite a number of inhabitants. Trades¬ people were there, artisans had located, and now the comforts of life could be enjoyed. A post office bad been established and though letters cost from 10 to 25 cents each, they were eagerly welcomed, and came with a commendable regularity. The social life of the people had grown also. A church had been built in this neighborhood, a school or two had been opened, and though each structure was rude in its outlines, yet it imparted a tone of progress to the resi¬ dents, and was playing an important part in their lives. The settlers on Sugar Creek went to Terre Haute, at first, for goods and their mail. After Paris was located, they went there. The county seat is generally the objective point in all new counties, and as Edgar County was no exception, it rapidly rose to the dignity of a town. It remained the chief post office for the Sugar Creek settle¬ ment until 1836, when Elbridge village was platted by Mr. James Ray, and through the influence of Rev. John V. Campbell, a Presbyterian clergyman, Pastor of a small congregation who worshiped then in a log church a short dis¬ tance south of the village, the post office was established in the embryo town. It is claimed by those living in its locality to be the second post office established in the county. The village has something of a history, and will be found further on in this narrative.

Passage source: The History of Edgar County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County--its Cities, Towns, &c. : Directory of Its Tax-payers; War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c. Illustrated, published 1879.

By the commencement of the Black Hawk war, in 1832, the county was, especially in the south and eastern parts, well settled. Good crops of corn and other cereals were raised ; clothing of an earlier day was superseded by a more becoming, if not more durable, garb ; sod-corn, planted between every third furrow, was replaced by crops that would admit a plow between the furrows ; frame houses were taking the place of log cabins, and much of the labor of the pioneer was now a thing of the past. Instead of being obliged to go to Pales- tine, Terre Haute or Vincennes for blacksmithing, or to the primitive shop of Solomon Aldridge, southeast of Paris, and built by him about 1822 or 1823, they could go to a forge of considerable importance at the county seat. Band-mills, mortars, graters, and other early appliances for grinding corn, were superseded by water-mills, whose supply of water was so well regulated they did not need to depend on a heavy rain or a spring freshet. Though all products were cheap, they were plenty, and no one suffered. It is not uncommon now to hear some one, rather chronic in his tastes, cry out for the "good old times." Does the complainer stop to think that pork in those u good old times" brought from 31 to $2 per hundred ; that corn often sold for 10 cents per bushel, and other things on that basis ? To any one who desires to repeat the toils neces¬ sary for the reduction of a country from nature's to man's domain, there is a w'ay open in the uncultivated and unbroken West, where he can work to his will.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Elbridge Township - 17,476 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

1 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Asher Morton Farmstead in 2007, burning about 5 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Equipment and vehicle use	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
16 November 2007	Equipment and vehicle use	5.0 acres	Illinois Division of Forestry Resources	not named

Every fire recorded in Edgar County

Storms near this property

60 of 88 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Paris, the town this property stands in, in 88 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 49 thunderstorm wind, 31 hail, 6 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
April 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	1 hurt	Thunderstorm winds blew a pickup truck off of Route 133 five miles west of Paris. One person was injured in the truck. Also, several trees and numerous tree limbs were blown down in Paris, as well as, one parked tractor semi-trailer.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$250,000	Widespread wind damage occurred across Paris. Numerous trees were blown down or uprooted, including one that crushed a truck. Power lines were blown down and minor roof and siding damage took place as well.
April 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$200,000	Several trees and powerlines were blown down. Some of the fallen trees caused minor damage to a couple of homes. A large farm shed was destroyed on the south edge of town.
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$110,000	Winds blew three large trees over onto a house that used to be a funeral home. Several other homes and businesses were damaged by fallen trees. Also, an airport hanger was damaged. Crops in the area sustained wind and hail damage. Damage was estimated around $110,000 for properties and around $35,000 in crop damage.
September 2005	Hail	Paris	$55,000	A thunderstorm produced golf ball size hail for 10 minutes as it moved across portions of northern Edgar county. The hail caused $170,000 damage to corn and soybean crops. Six homes had roof damage and broken windows, and numerous vehicles were dented from the hail.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$50,000	Numerous trees and power poles were blown down. Also, a barn and a house sustained damage and a semi trailer was overturned.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$40,000	Several tree limbs were blown onto houses and nine power lines were reported down on the east side of Paris.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$25,000	Several trees and power lines were blown down in Paris.
December 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large sign and several power poles in Paris. Just east of Paris a pole barn was destroyed. No injuries were reported and damage to the pole barn was estimated around $25,000.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$20,000	Multiple 2 to 3-inch diameter tree branches were blown down.
October 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$20,000	Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down in Paris.
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$20,000	Several power lines blown down. A large tree limb went through the roof of a house on the northwest side of town, causing minor damage.
May 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$15,000	Metal shed doors were blown in and some roofing was peeled off.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$15,000	Several trees were blown down at the cemetary on High Street on the north side of Paris.
May 2016	Hail	Paris	$10,000	The hail damaged the siding of a home.
October 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	$10,000	Several trees and power lines were blown down.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Barns and other farm outbuildings sustained minor damage from thunderstorm wind gusts at this location. This damage occurred about a quarter mile east of a tornado track.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Multiple power outages reported near Paris.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Power lines down near Blackburn Street on the north side of Paris. The downed power lines were on fire.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Numerous tree branches and power lines were blown down.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	The Edgar County Courthouse was damaged in Paris.
October 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several trees were blown over, causing roof damage.
April 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A pine tree was blown down.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A tree was blown onto a road.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A large tree was blown down.
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A large tree limb was blown down at Cherry Point and Maple Avenue in Paris.
June 2008	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Numerous streets were flooded in and around Paris.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Two barns blown down as well as numerous trees and power lines. No injuries were reported.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several large tree limbs and power lines and an 8 inch diameter tree were blown down.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several large tree limbs blown down.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A few large tree limbs blown down.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several trees were blown down around town. Some of the trees caused minor damage to a couple of homes. No injuries were reported.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down over 40 trees on a farm. The trees caused minor damage to the soffit of a house on the farm.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several large trees and power lines were blown down.
May 2003	Hail	Paris	-	Large hail caused widespread damage between Paris and Chrisman. Numerous homes, vehicles, barns, outdoor furniture, etc. were damaged or destroyed.
April 2002	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Several roads in town had over a foot of water on them after very heavy rain fell in a short amount of time.
April 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A large tree was blown down across a powerline.
April 2002	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Very heavy rainfall fell over a short amount of time in Paris. Numerous roads in the area were flooded as well as basements. Several people were rescued from their cars after driving into areas with water over the roads. No injuries were reported.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Two large trees were blown down in town. One fell onto an unoccupied van, destroying it.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew a tree down onto a house causing minor damage. No injuries were reported.
February 2001	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Streets in the towns of Paris and Kansas were reported under water as a result of 1 to 3 inches of rain falling on frozen ground.
May 2001	Flash Flood	Paris	-	Over 2 inches of rain fell, resulting in street flooding in Paris. Several cars became stranded in the flood waters, but no injuries were reported.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several large trees were blown down. One briefly blocked Illinois Route 1.
October 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Several power poles were blown down as well as trees and tree limbs. Also, a semi was blown over on Illinois Route 1, seven miles north of Paris. No injuries were reported.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A 3 foot diameter tree was snapped off at the ground.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	A large tree was blown over, as well as numerous tree limbs.
July 2000	Flash Flood	Paris	-	An area of thunderstorms moved through the county during the early morning hours of the 11th. Recently saturated ground allowed for the rainfall, totaling over 2 inches in some areas, to cause flash flooding mainly in the Paris area. County roads were reported underwater for several hours. A police vehicle was reported flooded out in the area. No injuries were reported and no damage estimates were available.
February 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Numerous power poles and power lines were blown down.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees and tree limbs from Paris to Vermilion as the thunderstorm associated with them moved east southeast across Edgar County.
June 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree and numerous tree limbs in Paris. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.
April 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew over a large tree onto a home in Paris, damaging the roof. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.
May 1995	Hail	Paris	-	Winds blew three large trees over onto a house that used to be a funeral home. Several other homes and businesses were damaged by fallen trees. Also, an airport hanger was damaged. Crops in the area sustained wind and hail damage. Damage was estimated around $110,000 for properties and around $35,000 in crop damage.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree in a cemetary causing minor damage to a few headstones.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Numerous trees, power poles, and power lines were blown down in Paris. One tree fell onto a house in Paris and another one fell onto a cabin in the Twin Lakes area two miles north of Paris, causing minor damage to both. Also, several metal sheds, shed doors, and siding on some homes were damaged. No damage estimate was available.
August 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Paris	-	Winds stripped the brick facade off a store front and damaged trees. A tree fell on a home.
June 2024	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed
May 2022	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed
April 2016	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed
April 2016	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed
August 2016	Hail	Paris	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Edgar County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Shaw-Van Gilder House	5.4 miles	2007
Paris High School and Gymnasium	5.6 miles	2019
Paris Elks Lodge No. 812 Building	5.6 miles	1987
France Hotel	5.6 miles	1987
Paris Carnegie Public Library	5.7 miles	2002
Edgar County Courthouse	5.7 miles	1981

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 96000096 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Edgar County	All 9 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.